Italy makes stunning exit; South American teams favored

A day after 2006 runner-up France ended its embarrassing 2010 World Cup, the 2006 champion Italy was eliminated in the group stage as well.

Italy didn’t play very well, but at least the Azzurri didn’t embarrass themselves off the pitch. Nonetheless, Italy had a disappointing showing.

Italy was picked to advance by most experts — including the Chronicle’s panel of Dominic Kinnear, Jamey Rootes, Oliver Luck, Nicole Ketchum and me.

Unlike France, which cheated to get into the World Cup, the Azzurri deserved their spots as group favorites in Group F. They were expected to at least advance out of the group stage even though there were questions about the team’s dependence on aging stars from 2006. Turns out, the Azzurri actually didn’t have enough to push through.

Needing a mere draw to advance, Italy lost 3-2 in an exciting match against Slovakia. Italy didn’t look good leading up the World Cup, and the Azzurri’s form didn’t improve much.

With two usual heavyweights like Italy and France gone while England looks rather unimpressive and Spain yet to find its top form, it appears as though the eventual winner will come from South America.

Heck, some wonder if the U.S. just might be good enough to reach the semifinals. I tempered my thoughts yesterday because I didn’t want to be too carried away by the emotion of the stoppage-time victory over Algeria, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the U.S. reaches the semifinals.

Still, Brazil and Argentina have to be the favorites heading into the knockout stage that begins Saturday.